


i me mine

by Kit_Kat21



Series: Beatles Tribute [22]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Animal Death, Dogs, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 10:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20406235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_Kat21/pseuds/Kit_Kat21
Summary: “I know Lady loved everyone, but… she was ours. Yours and mine and I…” Brandon’s voice shook as he tried to get the words out. “I never said it, but I always thought she loved us more than the others. I liked thinking that,” he then confessed.





	i me mine

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't want to write this and yet, "realistically", I knew that this would have to happen eventually to this family. 
> 
> The title is from the _Let It Be_ album. The song was written by George Harrison and it was actually the last new track recorded by the band before their split in 1970. According to Harrison, its lyrics serve as commentary about the tumultuous state within the group at that time. (Fun fact: Lennon didn't record this with Harrison, McCartney and Starr; he being on vacation with Yoko Ono at the time, which I think proved George's point perfectly). 
> 
> Martha, mentioned at the end of this story, was Paul's adorable English Sheepdog and he wrote a wonderful song dedicated to her for the White Album.

…

Sansa had done her best to keep herself from breaking down in front of the children as she and Jon comforted the five of them as they all cried and mourned. A few tears had escaped from Sansa’s eyes though, but she was quick to wipe them away before more could fall and she put all of her focus on the children.

It had been the same the year before when they lost Ghost.

The children had cried and Julia had asked – more than once – where Ghost had gone and why did he have to go and Jon had hid his tears from them all. Sansa knew though and she called her mother-in-law, asking Lyanna if she minded spending some time with her and the children in the park across the street. It gave Jon the chance to be alone so he could cry freely and mourn the loss of his faithful companion without worrying about upsetting the children even more and when the kids had been playing with their grandmother, Sansa had come back home and Jon had cried into her shoulder.

When the doorbell rang, Sansa lifted her head from hugging Eleanor and looked to Jon, who gave her the barest of smiles before looking over their brood.

“That’s Grandma Catelyn,” he told the children. “Let’s go let her in,” he suggested to them and bent down, hefting Max up from the couch. The little boy was still too young to fully understand what was going on, but was crying because all of his other siblings were.

Brandon didn’t go with them and remained on the couch. He was crying harder than any of the others and he wasn’t going to be stopping anytime soon. He was twelve and normally, he would never let anyone see him in such a state, but he didn’t care about that right now. Right now, he turned to his mom and with tears flooding her own eyes, Sansa wrapped him up in her arms, hugging him tightly and holding him close. She didn’t even hear Jon and her mother talking or the kids being herded from the house.

“Oh, sweetling,” Sansa whispered in his hair as he sobbed against her chest, soaking her tee-shirt. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. “Lady loved you so, so much and she knew that you loved her, too.”

Brandon just cried harder and hearing him, Sansa’s own tears fell harder.

“Do you remember the man I told you about who gave me all of my scars?” Sansa asked and Brandon didn’t speak, but he nodded his head against her chest. “Once I found out I was pregnant with you and was able to run away, I came home to your grandma and grandpa’s house. They and your uncles and aunt and your daddy worked so hard to keep me safe and to make me feel safe. But I was still so scared, I would cry whenever the doorbell rang and I couldn’t sleep without the lights on…”

Brandon slowly lifted his head from Sansa’s chest to look at her and she gave him a small smile, wiping at his sopped cheeks.

“Grandpa Ned surprised me one afternoon with Lady,” Sansa continued. “He told me that she was an emotional therapy dog and had been trained specifically to comfort me when I was sad and always be at my side whenever I was scared. And when I grew bigger and bigger as you grew inside of me, Lady would come and press her nose to my belly as if she knew you already and she loved you completely.”

That made a fresh batch of tears build in Brandon’s eyes and Sansa pulled him back into her arms.

“I went to the hospital to deliver you and your Aunt Arya said that Lady never moved away from the front door the entire time I was gone.”

She couldn’t see Brandon’s face, but she felt the slightest curve of his cheek as he produced a small smile. It made her smile, too, and she rested her cheek on top of his head.

“And when I came home a few days later with a newborn you, Lady was right there to meet you. I didn’t even have to tell her to be careful or to not lick you. She already knew and she was _so_ excited to meet you. Grandpa was convinced she was wagging her tail so hard at the sight of you, she was bruising everyone’s thighs.”

Brandon smiled again, wider this time, and Sansa’s smile came a bit easier, too.

“She loved you the second she met you. Just like I did,” Sansa said and then kissed him on the head.

“I know Lady loved everyone, but… she was _ours_. Yours and mine and I…” Brandon’s voice shook as he tried to get the words out. “I never said it, but I always thought she loved us more than the others. I liked thinking that,” he then confessed.

Sansa had never said it out loud, but she had thought the same thing. Lady was the Snow family dog and Lady loved everyone in their family, but so much of the time, she was still hers and Brandon’s and only theirs. Lady slept on the floor in Brandon’s bedroom every night – first next to his crib and then crowding onto his twin bed with him – and when Sansa was having a moment where her heart was beating too fast and she couldn’t breathe, Lady knew – always – and suddenly, she was right there for Sansa to hug and bury her face in her fur.

It had been the same for Jon and Ghost. Again, yes, Ghost was the Snow family dog, but he had been Jon’s more than anyone else’s. He had gotten Ghost just as he began his attempt at sobriety. He felt having a puppy would put his mind on other things and they grew together.

“Me, too,” she whispered to Brandon’s admission. “But it helps to think of it this way. Not _a lot_ of help, but it might make you feel a little better. She was almost fourteen years old and Lady lived a _very_ long life for a dog and she lived a very good life, too.”

“I know,” Brandon said, but his tears didn’t stop; not for a few more minutes.

Sansa never moved her arms away from him and she held him as he cried and Brandon hugged her as she cried as well. Sensing something from the corner of her eye, Sansa turned her head and saw Jon standing there – lingering – not wanting to impose on her and Brandon. But Sansa managed to give him a small smile and he took that as permission. He came to sit down on her other side and he kissed her head and then Brandon’s before slipping an arm around Sansa.

“Can we get another dog?” Brandon whispered.

“We will,” Jon readily promised before Sansa could open her mouth. “We’re a dog family who needs a dog.”

Sansa smiled at him at that and he smiled at her, too.

Brandon lifted his head from Sansa’s chest so he could look at Jon. “Maybe another emotional therapy dog?” He suggested and then looked to Sansa. “In case you get scared again.”

Her son’s words made her chest feel tight and her vision became blurry with tears.

“Grandma Catelyn just told me that her and Grandpa Ned have already talked about that,” Jon answered and Sansa looked to him; as if to make sure that he was telling the truth. He gave her another small smile. “Your dad is calling the same organization where he got Lady.”

And just hearing that, Sansa began crying again, not able to stop, and this time, both Jon and Brandon were there to hug her. She turned slightly towards Jon and put one arm around his neck as he murmured words in her ear that she couldn’t necessarily hear and her other arm went around Brandon’s shoulder as he, once again, rested his head on her chest. His own tears had slowed, but hearing his mom cry, another fresh round of his own began to build again. 

Sansa knew she was so much better now than when she first received Lady; too afraid to ever be home alone or not even able to go into the basement when her mother needed something because _what if Ramsay was hiding down there in the dark_ and when she got Lady, she remembered how she had finally begun to smile.

Sansa knew she didn’t necessarily need an emotional therapy dog anymore. Yes, there were still some nightmares, but those were few and far in between, and yes, there were still panic attacks, but her therapist, Dr. Tarth, had given her exercises to do and those almost always helped her calm down again and it wasn’t as if she got panic attacks daily anymore (and if she did, Jon was usually right there to hold her hand and help her calm her racing heart).

But she also knew that she wasn’t completely cured of her past. She knew that she never would be. She didn’t think that a person could go through the kind of abuse and torture she suffered through and ever be absolutely cured of that. Sansa didn’t like to think of herself like that, but she knew that it was the truth. And it seemed like her mother, father and husband all thought the same thing.

She wished they didn’t think that, but at the same time, Sansa was thankful to have those in her life who always looked out for her and wanted to help take care of her; whether she thought she needed it or not.

“Could we get another girl?” Brandon asked once there was another lull between tears. “She would never, _ever_ replace Lady,” he said that vehemently. “But I think we should get another girl dog. And would we be able to name her?”

Jon smiled a bit. “What sort of Beatles name would we give her if we do get to name her?” He wondered.

Sansa and Brandon looked at one another and shared a smile. They then looked to Jon. 

“Martha,” they said at the same time.

…

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I wanted to write Sansa/Brandon time and Lady is/was so important to the both of them. I just absolutely love Lady and the relationship these three have in this world.


End file.
